Sports briefs for May 15, 2013

By Wire Service Reports, Special to the BDN •May 15, 2013 7:01 pm

Rutgers names its first female athletic director

NEWARK, N.J., — Rutgers University picked a woman to head its athletic programs on Wednesday, as New Jersey’s largest public college looks to move on from a scandal that saw several top sports officials resign.

Julie Hermann, 49, who was a senior executive atheletic director at the University of Louisville, will be the first woman to hold the post of athletic director at Rutgers.

Her predecessor, Tim Pernetti, resigned in early April after ESPN aired video showing the school’s then-head men’s basketball coach abusing players and berating them with homophobic slurs. The coach, Mike Rice, was fired.

Rutgers President Robert Barchi, who had faced down calls for his own resignation during the uproar after the videos were aired, called Hermann “simply a remarkable leader.”

Hermann, who starts a five-year contract on June 17, acknowledged the school’s sports programs will have a way to go to regain the trust of fans, alumni and students.

“I’m well aware that many people that support this institution were deeply hurt by what took place,” she said.

The scandal put a spotlight on the high-pressure world of college sports, where millions of dollars of television revenue are at stake, coaches can command six-figure salaries but players are unpaid.

NBA blocks potential Kings’ move to Seattle

The Sacramento Kings are staying in Sacramento.

The NBA Board of Governors voted Wednesday not to allow the Kings to move to Seattle, according to USA Today Sports.

The Kings’ future in Sacramento has been in limbo as an ownership group in Seattle, headed by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have pursued moving the Kings to the Northwest.

Last week, the Seattle group lead increased its offer for 65 percent of the Kings to a record $409 million from $358 million. It also offered a relocation fee payout of $4 million per team for a total of about $116 million.

The Maloofs told fellow owners if the team is not allowed to move to Seattle, they would sell a 20 percent share to Hansen’s group and keep controlling interest in the team.

Patriots release DT Love for medical reasons

For the second time this week, the New England Patriots released a contributing defensive lineman. On Wednesday, starting defensive tackle Kyle Love followed Brandon Deaderick out the door.

Love confirmed the transaction via his Twitter feed.

The Boston Herald reported Love lost more than 20 pounds in a short time and last month was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes. Per the report, the Patriots informed Love he was being released based on medical uncertainty.

Love, 26, spent three seasons in the NFL, all with the Patriots.

Jets reserve QB Garrard to retire

Any New York Jets quarterback competition will have to go on without David Garrard.

According to NFL Network’s Adam Schein, Garrard plans to retire because of chronic knee issues. Garrard, 35, had signed a one-year contract to compete for the starting job with incumbent Mark Sanchez.

Schein reported he received a text from Garrard on Wednesday that said “Having to call it quits. My knee is not holding up. Continuing to swell after practices. Limiting what I can do.”

Garrard has not appeared in a game since the 2010 season with Jacksonville but had a strong training camp with the Miami Dolphins before he suffered a knee injury, cutting short a bid for a comeback from back surgery.

Garrard’s career numbers include 16,003 passing yards with 89 touchdowns and 54 interceptions.

Krzyzewski’s 2011 income at $9.7 million

Mike Krzyzewski’s compensation as Duke coach was close to $9.7 million in 2011, according to his tax records filed by the university.

That amount, based on the calendar year, is the highest total for a men’s basketball or college football coach since USA Today began keeping records in 2006.

Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino was paid slightly more than $8.9 million in 2010-11.

Krzyzewski’s base pay was listed at $1.98 million, and he received $5,64 million in bonus and incentive compensation.

As a private university, Duke is not required to disclose salaries. but the school considers Krzyzewski well worth the investment.

“By any measure, Coach K is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, college coaches of all time,” said Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations.

Brewers to call up reliever K-Rod

General manager Doug Melvin said the Milwaukee Brewers would add former closer Francisco Rodrigues to their 25-man roster rather than having the veteran pitcher exercise an opt-out clause to become a free agent.

Rodriguez, per Melvin, pitched aggressively in extending spring training and the minor leagues and the team is pleased with his conditioning, which had been a concern before he was signed April 17 amidst unrest in the bullpen over John Axford’s shaky start.

Rodriguez struck out 72 batters in 72 innings with the Brewers last season but wasn’t signed as a free agent in the offseason and remained unemployed until last month. He has been pitching for the Brewers Class AAA affiliate in Nashville.

According to MLB Network, his one-year contract could be worth up to $2 million if Rodriguez achieves unknown escalators in the deal.

Vikings in no rush to add Urlacher

Brian Urlacher isn’t close to finding a new home in the NFL if he’s expecting that destination to be Minnesota.

Head coach Leslie Frazier told NFL Network on Wednesday that the Vikings aren’t near a deal with Urlacher, as was reported over the weekend, and prefer to take a long look at the options on the current roster before considering other alternatives.

Frazier didn’t entirely rule out a connection down the road with the Bears’ great, who wasn’t re-signed as a free agent. Chicago moved swiftly to address its own defense, signing former Broncos starter D.J. Williams and drafting Florida’s Jonathan Bostic in the second round.

“Brian has been a great player in our league for a long, long time. He has been a thorn in our side for many years,” said Frazier. “At this point, we want to take a look at the guys on our roster, give them a chance to compete for the middle linebacker position and then we will see where it takes us.”

Erin Henderson is the front-runner in the middle linebacker competition.